Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Defying expectations par for Mathis' playoff course

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Friday, December 3, 1999

Defying expectations par for Mathis' playoff course
Overachieving Pirates hope to make favored Gatesville their latest victim
By Stu Duncan
Caller-Times

George Tuley/Caller-Times

The Mathis Pirates' varsity offense (right) lines up against the JV defense during a practice Tuesday.

MATHIS - Make jokes about their lack of size, speed and agility. Go ahead, give it your best shot.
   Just do it before game time.
   Because as Mathis High School senior tailback Clyde Veliz points out - things have a way of evening out once the opening kickoff is in play.
   Veliz said the slower, less agile Pirates seem to gain a step right before the opening kickoff, while their alleged superior opponents tend to slow down.
   The Pirates (11-2) have used that undersized, underdog role to perfection this season and hope to do the same today against Gatesville (11-2) in a Class 3A, Division I state semifinal game. Mathis and Gatesville will make their first state semifinal appearances today when they play at 7:30 p.m. at San Marcos' Bobcat Stadium.
   "Everybody we've faced this year has been faster than us, quicker than us and bigger than us," Veliz said, "but we've overcome it. Every time we step out on the field - we're all the same speed. I don't know how to explain it. When we step on the field, we're a different team."
   "We're an average team," Mathis senior defensive end Pedro "Pee Wee" Flores said. "We don't have speed out there. Clyde's a great running back and he's got the moves but he doesn't have that burst of speed. I guess it's the enthusiasm - the want-to."
   Intensity isn't the thing the Pirates thrive on. A lack of respect from opponents is another driving force.
   The seniors feel the team's size disadvantage plays right into Mathis' hands.
   "They look at our size and underestimate us," said Pirates 5-foot-6, 160-pound senior linebacker Luis Alvarez. "You see our size and say, 'Oh, this is going to be an easy game.' But when it comes to the game - it's a whole different story."
   A shortage of size wasn't the only thing the Pirates had to overcome this season.
   Digging out of holes
   Big-game deficits and senior pride also stood in their way.
   Mathis' unbeaten district season was slipping away when the Pirates trailed Orange Grove, 21-0 during a key district game. The Pirates rallied to overtake the Bulldogs, 42-28 and clinch the District 31-3A championship - their first outright district title since 1972.
   "That was the high point of our season," Mathis senior center Billy Hall of the comeback against Orange Grove.
   Last week, two interceptions helped Burnet build a 21-10 second-quarter lead in the Pirates' state quarterfinal game. Mathis responded with 29 consecutive points to prevail, 39-21.
   "These kids are on a mission," Mathis football coach Chris Soza said. "They never give up. They know if they keep at it, good things will happen. These kids believe."
   "More than anything, I think it's our unwillingness to fail," Hall said of the team's ability to overcome deficits.
   The Mathis seniors also had to overcome their loyalties at the beginning of the season.
   Quarterback controversy
   A preseason quarterback controversy nearly split the team apart, as senior Eric Byerley and junior Justin Soza, the coach's son, competed for the starting role.
   Byerly was the backup quarterback last season, while Soza was the junior varsity quarterback. Soza was chosen as the starter.
   "I'm very proud of him because it has been tough on him being the coach's son," Chris Soza said of Justin. "Obviously I put more pressure on him because he is my son. He's improved a bunch and the team has accepted him as a junior leading this team."
   It wasn't always that way, however.
   "The first game we played it was like, 'We need a quarterback'," Veliz recalled of the younger Soza's performance in the season opener. "It was pretty bad. But he has surprised all of us. He's gotten better every game."
   "We were kind of disappointed at the beginning of the season because of the position we were put in," Alvarez said of Soza being named the starter. "But the kid (Soza) has come up and shown that he can hang with the big boys. It's not just because his dad's the head coach. He's proven day in and day out that he's the starting quarterback."
   And what typified the unselfishness at Mathis this season was the way the upperclassmen handled being named second string.
   Byerley is still with the team and threw a key 2-point conversion pass last week to inspire the Pirates' quarterfinal comeback.
   "I have the utmost respect for Eric because any other guy would have walked off the field after he was told that he was no longer the quarterback," Alvarez said of Byerley. "That shows a lot of character and a lot of heart."
   "He did it for the team," Flores said of Byerley. "A lot of people would've put their pads up, but he realized that Justin was the better man (for the job). If he didn't, we might not be here."
   A SCOUTING REPORT: Chris Soza said Gatesville's team speed concerns him, calling the Hornets the "fastest team we've faced."
   Flores said speedy opponents are nothing new to Mathis.
   "We've contained speed all year and that's what we're going to do (against Gatesville)," Flores said. "Speed doesn't scare us. We're ready to face anybody."
   Soza said the Hornets are a pass-first offense, which is something the Pirates defense hasn't seen this season.
   Gatesville quarterback Donche Moore completed 11 of 18 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns during the Hornets' 20-8 state quarterfinal victory last week against Cleveland. Moore also threw three interceptions.
   "He's got a real good arm," Soza said of Moore. "We haven't faced a quarterback like him. This kid is one of the best I've seen in 15 years."
   Junior running back Taurean Henderson led Gatesville's rushing attack last week. Henderson had 67 of the Hornets' 133 rushing yards in the game and scored on an 18-yard run.
   Soza said Mathis' ability to play ball-control offense - the Pirates held Burnet's time of possession to less than 13 minutes last week - will determine the team's fate tonight.
   Gatesville's defense shut out Cleveland in the second half in yielding 55 yards rushing and 220 yards of total offense.
   The Hornets have outscored their playoff opponents by a combined score of 76-38, an average of 25-13 per game.



Staff writer Stu Duncan can be reached at 886-3702 or by e-mail at duncans@caller.com

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